Your Guardian Angel
by quixotic-x
Summary: Vanessa Reyes: daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, student, and.. juvenile delinquent? Vanessa was never the one to do something stupid. She was quite the opposite, in fact. But lies, betrayal, secrets, and heartbreak can always change a person..
1. New Beginnings

**A/N:** Well, it's been a long time since I've written fanfiction. Over the March Break, I got pretty bored and decided to write. After letting some friend the first few chapters, I decided to post it up here. And this story is dedicated to my suuuper best friend, Katie, whom without, I wouldn't have titles for any of the chapters.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Holes. I do, however, own the plot and Vanessa and any other character that might come up in the future that you do not recognize.

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**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter 1: New Beginnings**

I looked out at the desolate desert before me. Millions of holes covered the dry land and a slight feeling of fear and anxiety creeped into me as I realized that I would soon be at my destination. Looking around the hot bus that I was unfortunately handcuffed to, my eyes fell on the guard that was supposed to make sure that I didn't do anything stupid. When he realized that I was looking at him, a smirk appeared on his face.

I looked away, feeling my face turn red as I did so. Whether it was because I was embarrassed or just angry that the guard thought it was funny that I was being forced to go to an all boys camp, I didn't know. Feeling the guard's eyes still on me, I turned to look out the window again, brushing some of my hair out of my eyes to get a better view. Not like there was anything special to look at.

The bus that kept me trapped like a prisoner, which I guess I am, was slowly arriving at its destination and as it did so, I noticed for the first time the boys that were walking around in plain orange jumpsuits. As the bus came nearer and nearer to them, most looked up in interest to see who their new camp mate would be and I quickly turned my head, fully aware that none of them knew that the person in the bus is a female instead of a male.

When the bus came to a complete stop, the guard got up from his seat at the front and made his way toward me. I tried my best not to look at him since he gave me this weird feeling that I couldn't really put a finger on. As soon as I was free of the handcuffs, I jumped up, grabbed my one suitcase, and quickly made my way out of the bus. As soon as I was out, though, I regretted my decision of trying to run away from the guard. If one guy could make me feel weird about myself, I knew that the next one and a half years here at Camp Green Lake will be hell, seeing as every guy close enough to get a good look at me were staring, making my heart beat fast. I was never the one who liked being the center of attention.

My eyebrows crinkled in confusion as I looked down at my converse, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. With dark brown wavy medium-length hair, dark eyes, and an average build, I was nothing special. There was no need to stare at an average looking girl, was there? Of course, none of these guys have probably seen a girl in months, making their ogling understandable.

I was forced to look up, however, when an aging man in a cowboy hat started talking to me. In one hand, he held a bag of sunflower seeds and in the other, two pairs of those orange jumpsuits all the guys wore. I frowned, knowing I would be forced to wear the uniform also.

"Vanessa Jasmine Reyes?" the man asked while looking down at a clipboard, which probably had all my information on it. I sighed. Well, who else could it be?

"Yes," I said quietly. I was always shy around new people.

The man grunted. "Welcome to Camp Green Lake. I'm Mr. Sir."

I raised my eyebrows when he introduced himself. I felt the need to laugh, but knew better not to. Every guy in the vicinity was still staring at me, making me self-conscious. I tugged at my pink tank-top, nervously biting my lip.

"Just to make things clear, this ain't a Girl Scout camp, missy. None of us is gonna feel sorry fer ya if you start complaining about how hard it is to dig a 5 foot by 5 foot deep hole," he said, shoving a handful of sunflower seeds into his mouth.

"I kinda figured," I said, still barely loud enough for him to hear.

I felt his eyes looking at me suspiciously. The pink tint started coming back to my cheeks. I hated how I could get so embarrassed so easily. This trait I had inherited from my mother.

"Well anyways," he mumbled. Clearly, this was the first time he had heard this kind of reaction. "Here's your two jumpsuits. One is fer when ya're diggin and the other is fer.. well, when ya're relaxin."

He handed the ugly jumpsuits to me and just as he did, a short man with a weird hat and way too much sun tan lotion on his nose came forward. Mr. Sir grunted at him and walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief. He was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Maybe this guy will be better than him, or at least didn't make me feel embarrassed.

"Well, hello there pretty lady. My name is Mr. Pendanski. It's really not that hard to remember. Just think of three words: pen-dance-key. Now I know you've made some bad decisions in the past which have landed you here, but I believe in second chances and am happy to give it to you," all this he said with an overly cheerful voice.

I groaned on the inside. He was just as bad as Mr. Sir, just for different reasons. I tried to smile at him, but my smile was a bit wavy, making it looked like it was forced. Which, of course, it was. But he took no noticed of it.

"You, my lucky girl, have been placed in D-Tent. D stands for diligence. I'm sure the boys in your tent will treat you kindly and with respect."

He continued to talk, but I wasn't really paying attention. Who would ever consider themselves lucky being sent to a place like this? As he led me to the tents that were set up near the far side of camp, he talked a bit more, not noticing that I was in my own little world. I looked around and saw a few guys whispering to each other. No doubt about me. Some even winked, making my face turn a deep scarlet. What if one of those boys was in my tent? I guess I should get used to my face looking like a tomato.

I closed my eyes as we entered a tent marked 'D', bracing myself for any cat calls or gasps that would for sure come out of the boys' mouths. But surprisingly, I was greeted with silence. Still, I was afraid to look. I was pretty sure my face was still as flushed as if it was a red bell pepper.

"Jose! Alan!" The man who had three words for a last name exclaimed. Oh great, there was people in the room. I was beginning to hope that we were alone so I wouldn't have to deal with any boys just yet.

Opening my eyes, I quickly took in my surroundings. There were 7 cots in the tent; each had a crate either beside or underneath it. I guessed these were for our personal belongings. Soon enough, my gaze fell upon 3 boys, each lying down on their cots. One was clearly Hispanic and another wore a do-rag and was chewing on a toothpick. Both boys were staring at me, shocked expressions on their faces. The third boy was also looking at me, but his expression was curious, not dumbfounded. He was African-American and from what I could tell, was a bit shorter than me.

The only person who seemed oblivious to all this was Mr. Pendanksi. The man sure could chat up a storm.

"This is Vanessa," he informed the boys. "She will be your new camp mate."

The boy with the toothpick finally got out of his stupor and managed to get out a sentence. "But… she's a _girl_."

Did he really have to say it like it was a bad thing? You'd think he'd be grateful to have a person of the opposite sex live with you if you haven't seen one in so long. On second thought, that could also be very bad.

My thoughts were interrupted as Mr. Pendanski gave a little chuckle.

"Of course she's a girl, Alan. We've decided to experiment and see what it would be like to have this camp co-ed."

The boy named Alan groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Squid!" He turned to me. I could feel my face getting hot again. He was very good-looking, better than most of the boys I know. His face distracted me so much, I didn't even pay much attention to his name. But really, why would anyone want to be called Squid?

"That's Magnet," he said, nodding towards the Hispanic boy.

Magnet smiled warmly at me. He gave me the feeling that he would be really easy to talk to. "Hey, chica," he said in a heavy accent.

"Oh, and that's Zero," Squid added. I couldn't help but feel that it was just an afterthought. He was just being polite. "He doesn't talk much. I suggest that you don't even try to get anything out of him."

This was when I realized that I hadn't even said a single word yet. I figured I should at least say hello to make sure they know I'm not dumb or don't appreciate their kindness or anything.

"Hey. Um, I'm Vanessa, but you can just call me Nessa. No one really calls me by Vanessa anymore."

Mr. Pendanski smiled. I was sure that he thought that he had done his job well and that we were hitting it off to a great start. He turned and headed back out of the tent.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to get acquainted. Vanessa, if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask any of the boys in your tent. They're all very nice and helpful. If it's something serious, then don't hesitate to come to me," he said before he disappeared, covered by the tent flaps.

I turned to the boys again. They had all gone back to eyeing me. I groaned to myself, asking why I had to be so self-conscious. Brushing away the hair that had fallen to my eyes again, I tried desperately to think of a good way to start a conversation.

"So… which cot do I sleep in?" Oh yeah, great conversation starter. I should really consider a job in script writing, I thought bitterly to myself.

Magnet pointed to a cot, which, coincidentally, was right in between his and Squid's and right in front of Zero's. Great, now instead of going into a corner by myself to have some peace, I'm stuck right smack in the middle of the guys who are probably going to ask me a ton of questions. Well, after they get over the shock of having a girl in their camp. Which should be soon.

Hesitantly, I walked over to the cot, putting my small suitcase down beside it and lied down. I did all this without looking up but knew that their eyes were still on me. Closing my eyes, I tried to think of something happy. It didn't work. Soon, my head was filled with images of me doing something clumsy, something I usually did when I was the center of attention. Well, actually, something I did on a daily basis, center of attention or not.

I turned my body until I was laying on my side and opened my eyes. Bad idea. My eyes locked with Squid's own and out of surprise, I jumped up, lost my balance, and fell off my cot.

There was 5 seconds of silence and then roars of laughter could be heard coming from Magnet and Squid. There was some sort of creaking, showing that someone was getting out of their cot and suddenly, I felt a pair of hands grabbing my arms and pulling me up. Just great. I had to make a fool of myself already.

"Are you ok?" Magnet asked as Squid let go of me when he was sure that I was able to stand up on my own.

"Umm, yeah I'm fine. I was just, uh, surprised is all," I said as I got back down on my cot. "Um, do you guys mind? I just want to have some sleep for a bit."

"Sure thing, chica," Magnet said, getting up. "Me and Squid were just about to leave for the Wreck Room anyways. See ya around."

I closed my eyes as I heard two pairs of feet walking out. The silence calmed me, making me feel at peace for the first time I had arrived. Soon, I drifted off to sleep, not realizing that Zero was still in the tent with me.


	2. Of Nightmares and Interrogations

**A/N:** Well, it hasn't been long, but I decided to put up the next chapter anyways. D Hope you guys like it, and I forgot to put this up last time but REVIEW please! Thank you very much.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own holes. Only the plot and Vanessa.

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**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter 2: Of Nightmares and Interrogations**

Nightmares were something that I had grown accustomed to over the past year. Almost every night for the past 365 days, I would dream about being lost in a forest with cuts all over my arms, each one gushing out blood. As I ran, trying to find my way and calling, in desperate need of help, waves of terror and hopelessness would wash over me and as soon as I realized that I would never find my way out and that no one would come looking for me, I would just fall to the ground, crying as the pain of my cuts took over me.

I would wake up from this horrible dream in a terrible sweat, pale and screaming bloody murder. The first few weeks this happened, someone would come up to check on me, making sure there was nothing wrong. But after a while, everyone in my house had gotten used to it, even blocking out the sounds of my screaming so they could have a peaceful night's sleep.

I hoped that I could escape these nightmares when I went to Camp Green Lake. At least give me this one break, I thought when I had agreed to go here. Of course, there was no such luck. It's me we're talking about, after all. The clumsy, average-looking girl.

When I woke up, six guys were all around my cot. Each and every one of them had worried looks on their faces. And why shouldn't they, when the only girl they've seen for the past few months just randomly started to go in hysterics during her sleep, I thought. I was surprised no one tried to slap me to wake me up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I reassured them before they could say anything. Using my elbows for support, I propped up on my cot. "Just a bad dream."

Most of them looked at me disbelievingly. Oh, what a great nuisance I will be to them during the nights, I thought grimly. Taking in the looks on their faces, I realized that I only knew 3 of the 6 boys that surrounded me. Being more confident than when I first arrived, I stared at the 3 new faces that were looking at me.

Two of them were black, one with unusually large glasses and the other a bit overweight with a bad stench radiating off of him. The third boy was tall with blonde hair that stuck out in every which way. I felt a bit bothered when I realized that he was not looking at me with concern like the others, but with fear etched all over his face.

The boy with the glasses seemed to notice my staring. He cleared his throat and straightened up, introducing himself as X-Ray. He gestured to the boy with the bad odour and said his name was Armpit while the boy with the blonde crazy hair was ZigZag. I let my confusion show as I wondered why everyone insisted on being called such weird names.

X-Ray took one look at my face and carried on with explaining. "Our nicknames may sound weird, but here, it's a sign of acceptance. You'll get one as soon as we feel that you are truly one of us."

Actually, I was hoping I would never become fully one of them, seeing as these boys were all juvenile delinquents and I was only here because of a big misunderstanding. But of course, that's probably what everyone says, right? Even so, I tried to look as hopeful as I could that someday, I would be lucky enough to get a nickname also.

"Well, we should go to the Mess Hall," the boy I remembered as Magnet said. "The bell sounded 5 minutes ago."

I got up from my cot as everyone started to head outside. I couldn't help but notice that ZigZag was still giving me uneasy looks, like I would attack him at any second. My self-consciousness kicked in again and I was afraid that I was giving him some kinds of dirty looks or something that triggered some kind of fear in him.

Squid noticed my worried glances at ZigZag and laughed, making his way to walk next to me. "Don't worry about him," he said. "I read his file. He suffers from acute paranoia. He probably thinks you're from some alien planet trying to brainwash us. But that's ok, he'll come around."

I smiled lightly. "What, do I look that bad that someone would think I'm not even from this Earth?" I joked. It was the first time in a while that I had used my sense of humour. It was a bit enlightening.

Squid smiled back. "Yeah, you are. Too bad, really. First girl we've seen in months and she has to be butt-ugly."

I feigned shock, anger, and disappointment. I gave him a cold look, stuck my tongue out, and turned to walk with Magnet instead. As I did, I turned back to see what his reaction was but all he did was stare for a second, then he rolled his eyes and began to walk with X-Ray.

By that time, we had reached the place called the Mess Hall. Well, it certainly did look like a mess. When we entered, all eyes turned to me. And of course, since we were late, every guy was in there already. Oh great. Here comes the tomato face. And somehow, my stupid 'ol clumsy self managed to trip over smooth ground at that very second. Luckily, Magnet was there to catch me before I did a face plant. But too late, everyone had seen, since they had been scrutinizing my every move since I got here, and now everyone knows how much of a klutz I am. Joy.

"You okay?" Magnet asked as I straightened up.

"Yeah I'm fine. But I should warn you, be ready to catch me at any time of the day. I'm very prone to anything klutz-worthy," I said.

He laughed. "Yeah, I kinda figured that when you fell from your cot today."

I blushed even harder. I had forgotten about that.

We rushed in line with the others for food and that's when I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten anything since morning. And when I saw the shlop that they called 'food' that was being served, I figured that I wouldn't be eating anything until the next morning. Or ever.

We all sat down at a table and I eyed my so-called food suspiciously. Did they really suspect us to eat this? I glanced at everyone and came to a conclusion that they did since everyone else was eating all their food heartily.

Armpit noticed my disgusted expression and tried to smile comfortingly. "You get used to it after a while. Besides, if you've been diggin all day, you'd take any food ya get."

Oh great. Soon I would be chugging this down like the rest of 'em. Appetizing.

"Say," X-Ray said, eyeing my bread. It was the only piece of food I had that seemed edible. "Since you didn't dig today, mind if I eat your bread?"

I glanced down uncertainly. I noticed that he seemed to be the leader of the tent because of the way he carried himself, with an air of authority, but I wasn't willing to give up the only piece of food that I was planning to eat.

"Uhm, how about I keep the bread and you can have everything else?" I offered.

Everyone at the table howled with laughter. Clearly they thought I was joking. I stared at them, contemplating how I would ever fit in at this place. The guys stopped laughing as soon as they noticed my serious gaze.

"Oh. She wasn't kidding," ZigZag said, stating the obvious.

"Well, since you're a girl," X-Ray agreed. But he made no move to take the rest of the food away. "But you can have the rest, too."

So, I'm being treated differently since I was the girl. Some part of me wanted to jump up and protest feminin equality rights and what-not but hey, I got to keep my bread didn't I?

"So, Nessa," Squid started. I was surprised he remembered my request to be called Nessa instead of Vanessa. "What were you dreaming about?"

Oh great. I was beginning to hope that they wouldn't ask me about that. It took me almost a whole year to forget the event that caused those nightmares and all that pain. Well, forget as much as I could. I didn't want all that effort to come crashing down just because of a bunch of boys. Not knowing how to explain, I immediately went back from joking around to shy mode.

"Umm, well it was nothing really. Nothing to worry about. I have no idea what the dream even means anyways." All this was said as if I was talking to my food instead of the boys. Which was totally fine since I had a suspicious feeling that the food could understand what I was saying anyways. Surely something that could move on its own had to be alive, right?

The guys didn't believe me. I could see it in their faces when I finally did look up. Thank god they didn't bother me anymore about it, though. Instead, they asked another trivial question.

"So why are you here?"

Ugh. From one uncomfortable question to the next. Only for this one, I had absolutely nothing to say. Well, what could I? I'm sure the whole 'I'm innocent' thing has been done before. No one's going to believe it, but sadly, that was the truth. Well, most of the truth.

"I never meant to hurt anyone," I tried to explain. "It was out of self-defense." Well, all least that was true. And thank god that was all the boys needed to know. I guess they all just pictured in their mind how I had hurt this person and that was enough for them. I knew that at least one of them pictured me killing the person. Oh well. Let their imaginations run wild.

"Umm, Nessa? One more question." I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Mhmm?"

"Why aren't you wearing your jumpsuit?"

Oh. Woops.

"I guess I just forgot," I said, shrugging it off. I turned back to my food. Deciding I didn't want to die of poison, I ate the bread, which was as rock hard as bread could get, and just left everything else alone. Afterwards, I looked around the boys once more and remembered that I knew absolutely nothing about them.

Time for the interrogations, I thought to myself with a smile.

"So," I started. "I don't really think it's fair when you guys know oh-so much about me and I don't even know some of your real names." Granted, the little tidbits of information they knew about me was a bit edited, but oh well.

"Oh yeah. Oh-so much," X-ray said, shaking his head. "Well, my real name is Rex." I waited for him to say more, but he was done with talking. Great. Now that I know his real name, I feel like he's my brother! Note the sarcasm.

"I tried to steal a puppy," Magnet's unmistakable voice offered. "I woulda made it outta the store if the dog didn't start barking."

Everyone at the table laughed. I was beginning to feel that these boys aren't really hardened criminals.

"Breaking and entering. Stealing," Squid said when everyone had stopped with the hysterics. I nodded and turned towards Zero, who was sitting beside him. He looked right back at me, but didn't say a thing. I guess he was just the shy type. But that's not what everyone else thought.

"Awh, don't even try with Zero," Armpit said.

"Yeah," Magnet agreed. "He's probably too dumb to even understand what you're saying."

I felt s surge of sympathy towards Zero. I had a feeling he wasn't as dumb as everyone made him out to be. He probably just didn't want to be acquainted with these boys, just like I was when I first arrived.

"Awh, don't be so mean," I said, standing up for him. "He's probably just shy. Or maybe he prefers not to associate with you guys so as not to stoop to your levels of idiocy."

The guys stared at me with dumbfounded expressions. Yeah, I had just burned them all with one sentence, using someone that was probably their usual object of ridicule. Hah. I stuck my tongue out. They all rolled their eyes.

"Ya know, you have a lot of mood swings," ZigZag said.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know. I guess it's going to be a lot less when I get more comfortable around you guys."

That was when we all decided to head back to the tent. It was nearing lights out, so everyone decided to get changed. My face turned unnaturally red again as they all took off their shirts without even noticing that I was just standing there, staring at them. Squid was the first to notice me when he was just to pull off his jumpsuit.

He turned a slight pink, too. "Uhm, guys, I think we should give Nessa a bit of privacy."

"Such the gentleman," I mumbled. He wasn't actually supposed to hear, but he did, and he grinned.

Everyone turned and looked completely shocked when they saw me standing there. Geez, was I that forgettable? Oh well, they were all probably pretty used to changing without having to consider a lady being in the room. Old habits die hard, don't they? They all mumbled their apologies and headed out to give me a chance to change in peace.

Feeling bad for having pretty much kicked out all of my tent mates, I tried to change quickly, pulling off my tank top and jeans and getting into my pink cami and one of the short-shorts that I brought strictly for sleeping in. I didn't want to be considered a slut but I figured I'd die of heat if I wore anything that covered my legs or arms in bed.

"Mmkay, I'm decent!" I called out the guys. One by one they all entered the tent again, glancing at my attire for just a fraction of a second before turning away, a light pink creeping on their cheeks. Well at least they had the decency to respect me. I had the feeling that if I was in any other tent, they'd be all over me in a second. I was suddenly grateful to have been put in D-Tent.

"So what exactly do you guys do around here before lights out? Or for any kind of fun, actually?" I asked. I couldn't expect them to just sit there talking until they had to go to sleep. Sure, they weren't hardened criminals but they were boys, after all. And as far as I knew, boys didn't sit there for hours gossiping.

"Well, usually we play cards before lights out," Armpit said.

"Yeah, chica. Wanna play poker with us?" Magnet asked.

I would have. But I had no idea how to play. "Uhm, no thanks," I said. "I'll just watch you guys."

They seemed fine with that so I turned to sit down on my cot while I watched them play. As I did, I quickly gave each boy the once-over.

X-Ray was clearly the leader. Even as I watched them play, he gave out orders and surprisingly, everyone followed them. But even so, he seemed like an ok guy. Someone who would be really easy to talk to and be friends with once we got to know each other more, I concluded.

ZigZag was beside him. Even though he did have a slight case of acute paranoia and, as Squid said, was afraid that I was trying to brain-wash him, I could easily see us becoming friends. You know, once he finally figured out that I wasn't an alien and I wasn't planning on doing any harm to him. Plus he was cute, in his own weird and wacky way. The wild hair suited him.

And then there was Armpit. He was nice. I could easily picture him as a kind of big brother. If only he didn't have that particular odour. Did this guy ever consider taking a bath once in a while?

Magnet was probably the one I was most comfortable with, along with Squid. I had embarrassed myself a ton of times around him lately and even if I did turn as red as a tomato, I didn't mind making a fool of myself around him all that much. Plus his accent was a bonus. I love guys with any type of accent pretty much.

Squid was the one I felt the most comfortable to joke around with, even if I only did so once so far. He was just an easy going kind of guy, even though he did try to act tough around the other guys. And with that toothpick always in his mouth and that lop-sided smile, he was what you would call cute.

Zero didn't play cards with them. He just lay down on his cot and stared at the ceiling, not talking to anyone, as usual. I wondered why he was like that. Something was surely bothering him. Whether it was the other boys or if it was something that happened before he came here to Camp Green Lake, I didn't know. But I so desperately wanted to find out. I should remember to try to talk to him when the other guys aren't around.

I wasn't sure how long a lay there before I actually fell asleep. Even with the little nap I took earlier, I was still really tired. Hoping that the nightmare wouldn't come back, I closed my eyes and soon, the lull of the boys' chatter soon faded away as I fell into a deep slumber.


	3. Sweet Escape

**A/N:** Well, this chapter took me some time to write since I didn't know what kind of approach i wanted to take and where I should end it. Plus I think I made it painfully obvious about Vanessa's past.. the bad part about it. Hmm. 3 cheers for anyone who can guess: Except Kate since I told her the whole plot already. Pleeease review, thankerss.

**Disclaimer:** Do I have to do this for every chapter? Whatever. I don't own Holes.

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**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter 3: Sweet Escape**

"Nessa."

Was someone saying my name? Nuh uh. It's just part of a dream…

"Nessa."

There it was again. Maybe it was an angel come to rescue me from my days at Camp Green Lake? Hah. I wish.

"Nessa." This time, whoever it was started to shake me. Ugh. Be gone, evil spirit! I have done nothing wrong to you!

"Nessa's not in right now. Please leave a message. BEEP!" Hah. Like I would listen.

The shaking stopped. "You guys, she's acting like an answering machine! See, I told you she's an alien trying to brain-wash us!"

That sounded vaguely like ZigZag. Wait. ZigZag? Right. Camp Green Lake. Digging holes. D-Tent. I groaned. Too much information re-entering my brain all at once.

"Acting like a what now and trying to do what's-its?" I mumbled, slowly awakening from my peaceful slumber. Well, as peaceful as it could have been.

"Nessa," a tall figure said, taking a hold of my hands and pulling me out of my cot. "It's 4:30. Time to rise and shine and get to digging."

"Hmm. Odd. I've always been taught that 4:30 in the a.m. was a time for sleeping and dreaming," I said, voicing my opinions. That was when my eyes focused to the lighting and noticed that Squid was standing in front of me. Everyone else in D-Tent was milling about, getting their icky orange jumpsuits on and giving me wary looks.

Squid looked at me with what seemed to be sympathy in his eyes. "Well, here at Camp Green Lake we have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to start digging as early as we can so as to spend less time in the scorching hot sun during the midday," he explained.

I blinked. He sounded _smart _for a second there. I looked up to say something witty in return, something I had not thought of yet and hoping that in one second, would come to me, but as I gazed into his chocolate brown eyes, all thoughts that were once in my head vanished and the only thing in my mind was that _he was looking at me_.

Funny. I had never noticed his eyes like that before. I had given him long, hard stares all through last night while he was playing poker with the others, but I never had a reaction like this until now. My gaze lowered and saw that he was still holding my hands. Why hadn't I felt them? Why couldn't I feel them now? Had I gone numb from his touch? It was amazing that I had only met him yesterday and he already had this kind of power over me. Butterflies in your stomach wasn't supposed to come until much later, wasn't it?

Hesitantly, I let go of his hands, missing their touch as soon as I let go. Why was I feeling this way? I couldn't have fallen for him already, could I? This was just ridiculous. I was being such a… _teenager_. Well, technically I am, but this kind of behaviour is just _not_ acceptable. Not yet. Not now. Abandoning all thoughts of having a witty respond, I resorted into reluctantly turning away from him and gathering the clothes that I planned to wear that day. Stupid, teenage behaviour would have to wait… at least until I got dressed.

I turned sheepishly to the others. "Do you mind?" I asked.

Everyone shook their head. They said something about starting to leave for the library. I was sure my face showed confusion again. Library? Weren't we supposed to dig? No one said anything about reading.

Noticing the expression on my face, Squid offered to stay behind outside the tent. He would show me where the library was. Oh great. If having him look at me when there were 5 other boys in the tent made me have butterflies and cause me to have a loss for words, imagine what being alone with him would do. I'd probably die, and not just because of embarrassment.

I hurriedly put on my orange jumpsuit after throwing on a pair of boy shorts and a black tank-top right after the boys left. Not wanting to have to bother to look for my brush which lay in my one suitcase, still unpacked, I quickly ran my fingers through my hair. Afterwards, though, I still felt that I looked absolutely horrible, but decided that this was the best I could do with my appearance with the little time I had.

I took a deep breath. This was my first full day at Camp Green Lake. I was silently pleading that it would be a good one, but I somehow had the feeling that things weren't going to go well. With me, it never did.

Opening the tent flaps to make my way outside, I immediately saw Squid leaning against the side of the tent. Smiling widely when he looked up, I walked over to him. The butterflies came back when he smiled back at me. Seriously, this wasn't at all fair. I've blocked out most males for quite some time now, and then one boy comes along and just breaks down all my effort. What a waste.

"Time to go to the library," he said when we had started walking. I still had no idea why this library was so important. From some of my digging experience, which was mostly digging sand from the beach, I had never needed a book once.

We walked silently the rest of the way there. I wasn't sure if it was an uncomfortable silence or not. It was a bit of both if that worked. I tried desperately to think of something to say but my mind came to a blank. But after a while, the silence didn't bother me. The more I didn't talk, the less I would have to make a fool of myself by saying something stupid.

My stomach growled just as we reached a building with a sign saying 'Library' at the top. Pushing my thoughts aside on how it looked too small to be an actual library, I blushed. My hunger had no problem communicating. Although I was embarrassed beyond belief, Squid just smiled at me again. I guess he thought my hunger was cute. Or maybe he was just secretly laughing at me. It was hard to tell.

"You know, most people would complain about being hungry," he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm not like most people."

"I can see that. So hopefully, since you're not like normal people, you'll like breakfast," he said in his usual drawl.

I made a face. So obviously breakfast here wasn't much better than dinner. I guess the people who sentenced me here were counting on me to starve to death. My suspicions were confirmed when Squid handed me a honey-covered tortilla that Mr. Sir, who was standing near us, had given him. I made a whole show of smelling it first before actually taking a bite. The rest of D-Tent had walked to us by now and were all gathered around me, waiting for my reaction. Of course, they were all satisfied when I made another face and spit out the remaining contents of the tortilla that had been in my mouth.

"Ew! That's disgusting!" I yelled out.

All the boys burst into laughter. Most of them had the disgusting breakfast in their hands also, and I noticed that most of it were eaten already. Did they really expect me to get used to this kind of food?

"You better eat up, chica. If you don't you're gonna wish you had once we start diggin'. We wouldn't want ya to faint," Magnet said.

"Or throw up on us," ZigZag added, imitating a person barfing.

"Yeah, we don't need another Barf Bag in our tent," X-Ray agreed. I could only imagine why this person was called Barf Bag. I felt like gagging myself when I put two and two together and realized that I was probably sleeping on his old bed. Ew. That was what the stench was. I thought I was beginning to become another Armpit.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quit yer yappin." Mr. Sir said as he headed for the doors of the library. When he opened them, realization dawned on me why coming to the so called 'library' was so important. There, in front of me, were shovels. Tons and tons of shovels. I quickly made a grab for one of them once I saw the other boys taking one. And just as I had, X-Ray stood in front of me and grabbed it out of my hands.

"Hey! Rude much?" I said.

"Don't pay attention to that. That is and always will be X-Ray's shovel. At least until he gets out. It's smaller than all the others," Armpit said.

"Smaller shovel, smaller hole," Squid explained. I stared at the shovel in X-Ray's hand intently. It seemed the same as all the others to me. I rolled my eyes. Boys. I will never figure them and their stupidity out. I quickly grabbed another one just as the rest were starting to head out to their digging destinations. While walking, I shoved the rest of my breakfast into my mouth, trying as hard as I could as to not actually taste the disgusting food.

When Mr. Sir had finally gotten us to our digging spots, which was pretty far away from the actual camp, he led me to some ground that wasn't covered with holes already. He marked the place with his shoe and gave me one final look before muttering, "Start diggin'." Then he turned and started to walk back to the camp, not looking back once.

Everyone already had a small hole dug when I had finally got my shovel into the dry earth. I figured that it wouldn't be easy to dig a five foot by five foot deep hole, but I never knew how hard it was just to get started. By the time I had a small hole dug, blisters were already forming on my hands and I could see the first signs of bleeding. It had gotten so bad that everytime the boys looked up from their digging, they would smile at me sympathetically. Some had even offered to help me dig when they were finished. Even though I smiled back at them whenever they looked at me, inside I was fuming. I didn't want to become D-Tent's charity case.

By the time the sun had come up and I guessed it to be around 10:00, the need to sing a song came. That was something that usually happened when I was hard at work but didn't really want to pay attention to the task at hand. Completely forgetting that I was accompanied by boys, or any kind of human being, my mind came to one of my favourite songs, basically because I could relate to it a lot.

_Oh no  
Don't go changing  
That's what you told me from the start  
Thought you where something different  
That's when it all just fell apart  
Like you're so perfect  
And I can't measure up  
Well I'm not perfect  
Just all messed up _

I was losing myself to somebody else  
But now I see  
I don't wanna pretend  
So this is the end of you and me  
Cause the girl that you want  
She was tearing us apart  
Cause she's everything  
Everything I'm not

It's not like I need somebody  
Telling me where I should go at night  
Don't worry you'll find somebody  
Someone to tell how to live their life  
Cause your so perfect  
And no one measures up  
Yeah all by yourself  
You're all messed up

I was losing myself to somebody else  
But now I see  
I don't wanna pretend  
So this is the end of you and me  
Cause the girl that you want  
She was tearing us apart  
Cause she's everything  
Everything I'm not

Now wait a minute  
Because of you  
I never knew all the things that I had  
Hey don't you get it  
I'm not going anywhere with you tonight  
Cause this is my life

I was losing myself to somebody else  
But now I see  
I don't wanna pretend  
So this is the end of you and me  
Cause the girl that you want  
She was tearing us apart  
Cause she's everything  
Everything I'm not

But now I see  
I don't wanna pretend  
So this is the end of you and me  
Cause the girl that you want  
she was tearing us apart  
Cause she's everything  
Everything I'm not

"Woah."

I looked up to see six shocked faces staring at me.

"Chica's got skills!"

Realization dawned on me as my face flushed again for what seemed like the billionth time since I had come to Camp Green Lake. Without even knowing it, I had started singing. No, not singing. More like belting out the song. That was how loud I was. And I hadn't even noticed it until I had finished the whole song.

"Thanks guys," I said, smiling my signature shaky smile.

"Can you teach us how to sing like that?" asked X-Ray with an awed voice.

"Dude, even if she did, you'd still suck," Squid laughed.

"Yeah, like you could sing any better," ZigZag said while shaking his head.

"Oh, and you're saying that you can?" Squid challenged.

ZigZag smirked. "As a matter of fact, I am. Just watch. Cause she's everythiiing and everythiiing I'm noooot!"

Thankfully, Mr. Pendanski came just then in the water truck. I didn't really want to drop my shovel to cover my ears to block out ZigZag's awful singing. Besides, I wasn't really sure if I could even break my hands free of the shovel. I was positive that my dried blood had glued my hands to it. Oh, what a happy thought.

I went to the very back of the line, intending to let everyone else go before me so I would have more resting time but X-Ray forced me to move ahead in front of Zero. They really mistreated the guy. I turned back to him and smiled sympathetically. "I could move back if you want," I offered.

He stared at me for a bit before shaking his head. I sighed. I guess he was used to this, which was just not right. No one should ever be used to getting treated that way.

When it was my turn to get my water filled up, Mr. Pendanski smiled at me and asked me how my first day at Camp Green Lake was going so far. I had no idea what to say. I figured that telling him that I had a major infatuation with one of my tent mates already, had blisters all over my hands, almost threw up during breakfast, and was incredibly tired from having to get up at 4:30 wouldn't go over so well. So I just smiled back and said it was going just fine. Oh, what a great liar I will be once I get out of this place.

Before I got back to my hole, I went to have a little chat with my dear friend X-Ray. He looked at me with surprise on his face when I jumped into his now 3-foot deep hole. I tried to smile as casually as I could.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he said back. His voice was filled with questions. I didn't blame him. I wasn't really an extrovert until I got to know people much better. Me starting up a conversation with one of these boys was pretty much as awkward as a dog playing a piano. Well.

"I couldn't help but notice the way all of you treat Zero. Why do you always act like he doesn't matter?" I didn't waste time with small talk.

He seemed surprised by my question. "Well, um, I dunno. He's just never really talked to us. We kind of got the feeling that he thought he was better than us or somethin'. We didn't want him to think that so I guess that's why we treat him like that."

"Huh." I said while giving a small nod. "Well, if you haven't noticed, you're making him feel bad. So please, can you just try to be friends with him? For me?"

He looked at me straight in the eye before nodding. This time, I didn't have to fake my smile. "Thanks, X-Ray!"

I jumped out of his hole and returned to mine. Back to digging, I thought miserably, all sense of happiness fading. I wasn't anywhere near finishing. I sighed contemptuously and got back to work, starting to sing another song. I had no problem with the boys hearing me now. Heck, if they thought I had an amazing voice then I might as well entertain, right?

This time, digging seemed to pass more quickly. The songs had made me forget everything about being hurt or tired. It was like a sweet escape. Before I knew it, the truck was coming again, only this time to serve us lunch. Oh joy. More food I'm just gonna hate.

I walked over to sit by Squid after I had gotten my food (a ham sandwich, apple, and graham crackers). Earlier before I had decided that there was no point in running away from my little crush. I knew I couldn't and just decided to let it take over me whole. If it would end in heartbreak, I couldn't tell. But I didn't care. I was ready for it. Besides, it wasn't like I was going to profess that I was in love with him or anything. I was sure I wasn't at that stage yet. It was much too soon, even for me. I was just curious. I wanted to know more about him.

"How's your first day of diggin?" he asked when I sat down.

"You tell me," I said, showing him my hands. He made a face.

"Ouch. Yeah, the first hole's the hardest, huh?" he said.

I shook my head. "Nuh, uh. Don't think so. Second hole will be the hardest since I'll be all sore from today."

"Oh great. She's pretty, is an amazing singer, _and_ she's smart," he muttered. I had a feeling that I wasn't supposed to hear that comment. I decided to save him some embarrassment and not mention anything.

I ate most of my sandwich before I carried on with the conversation. Surprisingly, it wasn't half bad. It was the only decent meal I had gotten so far here. I finished the rest and started to eat my apple before I decided to say anything again. By that time, he was almost done with his food, too.

"So tell me more about yourself, _Alan_." He glared at me for using his real name.

"Well, there's not really much to know," he started. "My mom's an alcoholic. She started drinking a lot when my dad left us. That was when I was 10. I'm 16 now and she's still not any better. I don't really know what caused me to start breaking the law. I guess I was just desperate or something."

I stared at him. I hadn't seen any of that coming. I felt a feeling of sympathy wash over me and I was barely thinking clearly when I reached over and gave him a big bear hug. Call me sensitive, but his life is just _depressing_. He muttered a small 'thanks' when I let go. I smiled.

"So," he said. I could tell he was determined to change the subject. "How come you get to know so much about everyone and all we pretty much know is your name?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, unlike you, there's a lot to know about me. My mother died when I was 3 so my father basically raised me and my little sister, Reagan, by himself. He got re-married to my step-mom, Tricia, when I was 13. But she's not like your typical step-mom like in Cinderella. She's really nice and I bonded with her quite well. And my super best friend in the whole wide world is the bestest. She's got the spunk that I never had. Together we're like one complete person. Like you know, the sisterhood of the traveling pants. Her name's Caitlin. I also had a boyfriend. One that I'd had for 3 years. And up until a year ago, I thought I loved him…" I trailed off. I hadn't meant to go down that line.

He just sat there for a while, gathering up all the information that I had just given him. Thank goodness he didn't try to touch on the boyfriend thing a bit more. I guess he could tell that it made me uncomfortable.

"So are you gonna ever tell us why you're here? Like fully tell us?" he asked.

I nibbled on the edge of my last graham cracker before I spoke. I wasn't really sure I could trust these boys yet, no matter how nice they seemed. Even Squid.

"Not sure," I concluded. "Not yet, at least. Sorry."

He nodded, showing his understanding. "We should probably get back to digging," he said. I nodded in agreement and we both got up, separating to go to our individual holes.

I decided I would go back to my escape, seeing as it apparently made me dig faster and less conscious about time. The boys weren't at all surprised now when I started singing another one of my favourites. I guess they liked having their own personal jukebox. Before long, I would probably be taking requests. I smiled to myself. And all this time I didn't even think I was all that good in singing.

About an hour and a half later, I came to the conclusion that I was done my first hole after I measured it with my shovel. I grinned with pride as I jumped out of the hole (after a few times of trying to since I was incredibly short) and was surprised to see that Squid and ZigZag were still at our digging site even though they had finished long ago.

"We decided we would stay so you wouldn't have to walk back alone," ZigZag said. He was actually easy to get along with once he got past the whole 'the girl is trying to brain-wash us' thing.

"Thanks guys," I smiled appreciatively at them. I started to walk back to camp with either boy at my side, but not before I turned to spit in my hole, just like I'd seen all the others do.


	4. Chivalry, My Saviour

**A/N:** Wow. I haven't updated in sooooo long! Sorry about that, but what with confirmation, graduation, school work, and hanging out with friends, I've barely had any time to write. But the summer is here and now I can finally relax for a bit and get back to my writing! Anywhoo.. this is a really really _really_ short chapter. I was planning to make it waaaay longer, but I liked the ending and decided to keep it just that. The ending. But don't worry, I already have a bit of the next chapter written, and I'll try to make it longer, promise! Soo.. R&R, kaays? Thanks.

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**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter 4: Chivalry, My Saviour**

The suns' rays dripped from the sky and into the horizon like blood flowing freely. Beads of sweat rolled down from my forehead to my chin before I had the chance to wipe it off. The heat had turned from almost bearable to searing. It was amazing that I didn't feel any of it while I was digging.

Clad in only my black and pink bathing suit (with a towel covering it up), I trudged along the camp, trying to ignore all the cat-calls and whistles that still seemed to accompany me everywhere. Some boys called out, inviting me back to their tent, but I completely snubbed them. I had one destination and one destination only. And that was the showers. It was astonishing how dirt all over your body and scorching heat could make you unaware of the would-be embarrassing moments that would come if I actually did pay attention to these boys.

I smiled in authentic gratefulness when I reached the showers and saw Squid standing over the doorway to my specially-made one (higher walls to cover everything). He had promised to watch over the door while I took my shower so that no one would try to get in. Who ever said that chivalry was dead?

"Thanks again, Squid," I said as I walked into the shower, giving him a pat in the back as I did so.

"Yeah, I better hear that again when you come out and find me all beaten up by all the guys trying to get in there to get a good look at you. 'Cause you had to be so god damn beautiful.." he muttered.

I turned to him and made a face. Did he just call me beautiful?

He seemed just as started as me. "I mean, of course I could take 'em! I could probably take a hundred 'o them guys at a time!"

Weird. He didn't seem to mind calling me beautiful..

I turned my back to him, deciding to push the thoughts away, at least for now. I really needed this shower.

"Yeah, well just in case you're unconscious when I get out, thank you Squidy!" I yelled over my head then proceeded to close the door.

It's weird how refreshing a sudden outburst of ice cold water can make you feel. I was surprised I didn't sigh with delight. For a few short, sweet minutes, the heat wave seemed to have disappeared. Key words: few, short, and seemed. All too soon, my minutes were up, I was all clean, and the blistering heat came back again to give a cheery hello. Psh. Yeah right. More like came back to yell 'GAH! TIME TO MAKE YOU DIE!'

After drying off and wrapping the towel around me, I proceeded to open the door of my shower. Oh, what a big mistake. Yes, Squid was there and he did do good making sure no one from the _outside_ opened the door. But he did nothing about _me_ opening it. And once I did, I was greeted with about 20 boys (not including Squid) standing there and waiting for me to come out. Squid was tough, but no one could take on all these guys without any help. And no help came.

My dear Squid fought off as many of these guys as he could. But have you ever tried fighting off 20 guys single-handedly? Yeah, not as easy as they make it in the movies is it? Not even close.

Before I could turn and try to walk away from the ruckus or help Squid, two of the boys had made their way towards me. Waves of alarm and panic coursed throughout my body as one of them, a tall and fairly muscular guy, wrapped his arms around my waist and the other, who was somewhat shorter but still just as toned and perverted, put his finger against my chin and forced my head up. Leaning towards me, he whispered in my ear in a rough voice that sent chills down my spine.

"Don't even pretend you don't like the attention, princess. I wouldn't be surprised if you turned up in my tent tonight asking me for some. I'm in B-tent by the way."

And after he talked to me in such a manner he even had the nerve to wink!

I could feel the heat coming back to my face, but this time it wasn't because of embarrassment. No, this was full on anger and hatred. I wouldn't let these people talk to me like this. I swore I would never let _any _guy talk to me like that. Not after Noah..

"I'm not a slut, thank you," I said through gritted teeth.

Both boys laughed and the one who had talked to me leaned in again, this time crushing his lips against mine. I felt disgusted to say the least. Without even thinking, my hand instinctively reached up and slapped him right against his cheek. He doubled back and already I would see a red hand print where I had hit him. The other let go of his firm grasp around my waist and yelled in my ear.

"Why the hell did you slap him like that?"

Honestly, boys could be the stupidest things living on this earth.

"I told you, I'm not a slut! I wasn't just gonna let you guys kiss me and treat me like that!" I yelled back just as loud. It was probably the loudest anyone here at Camp Green Lake hear me talk.

By this time, Squid had gotten rid of all the other guys crowded around me and made his way over. Putting his arm around my shoulder, he made me turn and led me away from the two boys, who were too dumbfounded by my sudden outburst to protest or do anything.

"I think the lady made it pretty clear. Mess with her again and you won't only be dealing with me and her. You'll have to face the whole of D tent!" he called out to them.

Then he turned to me and, using his thumb, wiped away the single tear that rolled down my cheek and went unnoticed by me. I was surprised to find myself crying and wanted to slap myself for getting so worked up over the whole incident. I had tried for so long to convince myself that I was tough enough to face this kind of situation again, especially ever since I had learned that I would be going to an all-boys camp.

"You ok, Nessa?" he asked me in a hushed tone.

I looked away, not sure what my answer would be. Yes, I felt pretty fine. There would be no screaming for ambulances because of a sudden faint spell. But then on the other hand, I was shook-up to say the least. Just because of that one incident, flashes from my past kept coming back to my memory. These were reminders of terrible things that I tried so hard to forget. Even the feeling of the perverted bastard's icy lips on mine brought back nightmarish occurrences.

"No. No, I'm not fine," I whispered finally. "Can we please just go back to the tent for now?"

Squid nodded. The rest of the walk back to our tent was a silent one. Squid stayed a considerable amount away from me now but even when I turned away from him, I could feel his eyes on me, probably to make sure I didn't collapse or do anything stupid. No, chivalry was in fact not dead. It just takes you a long, long time, multiple amounts of tears, and many wrong turns to find it.


	5. Revelations

**A/N: **This didn't take me very long to write :) Well, a lot of Vanessa's past is revealed in this chapter during the flashbacks, but I still haven't written about why she got sent to camp in the first place. I MIGHT add that in the next chapter, I'm not sure yet. Plus, I've introduced a somewhat new character in this chapter. I like her. She's got spunk, but we don't know that much about her yet. You'll get what I'm talking about when you read. So, please R&R:)

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**Your Guardian Angel  
Chapter 5: Revelations**

_The silence was screaming in her ears. All she could do was stand there and wait as the darkness engulfed any hope of her escaping her attacker. There was no sound, not one single sign of life except that of her own voice screaming inside her head and the fast-paced beating of her heart. Clearly there was no escape._

_The sudden crack of a twig made the girl jump. She made an attempt to look around to see what caused the noice, but she had no such luck She couldn't see a thing. Not when the moon was bright and covered by the leaves of the tall trees._

_Suddenly, a sharp pain coursed throughout the girl's arm and the silence was broken yet again, this time by her deafening scream. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and forced her to the ground. More pain came as the person slashed her arms and slit her wrists and soon, the earth was stained as her blood dripped all over._

_Vanessa sat on the couch, watching this slaughter being depicted on her television screen. Warm arms were wrapped arund her tightly as she leaned onto her boyfriend who was sitting behind her._

"_Scared, Nessa?" he whispered into her ear. His warm breath tickled her. She laughed and looked up and her eyes locked with his alarmingly blue ones instantly._

"_Psh. Scared? Nah. Disgusted? Yes. Tell me again why I agreed to watching this with you?"_

"_Because you love me?"_

"_Oh, that's right, I do, don't I?" Vanessa said. "And why is that, exactly? Because I can't seem the recall."_

"_Because I'm devilishly handsome, incredibly hilarious, and an awfully good kisser."_

_She bit her lips. "Awfully good kisser? Nah, you must be confusing yourself with that guy I'm having an affair with."_

_His eyebrows furrowed and she winked, smiling brightly as she did so. He rolled his eyes._

"_Very funny."_

"_Mhmm. See, I'm the incredibly hilarious one in this relationship."_

"_Whatever happened to the shy Vanessa I used to know?"_

"_She went away on holiday. For now, you'll have to settle for me."_

_He paused, appearing to think about what she said for a minute and then shrugged. "I'm fine with that."_

_They both leaned in, their lips colliding. His hands went from her waist and slowly crept up, cupping her face. His tongue found her lips and started begging for entrance. She parted her mouth slightly and her hands roamed up to his head, brushing along his hair. A slight moan escaped from her throat._

_The boy leaned forward, pushing her down on the couch so that he was on top of her. He parted from their liplock to plant short kisses on her cheeks and forehead. Faces got flushed, breaths got heavier, and emotions went wild._

_He was kissing her neck and his hands were slowly creeping down again when she stopped him short._

"_Noah, we should stop. I'm.. I'm not ready for this," she breathed._

_An exasperated sigh came from his lips. He had dealt with this before._

"_Vanessa, didn't you just tell me that you loved me? If you truly loved me, you would be ready for this."_

"_If you truly loved me, you'd wait until I was ready!" her tone became harsh and bitter._

_Noah's hands pinned her downs. His facial expression was no longer caring. Teenage hormones had taken over him completely now._

"_I'm tired of waiting, Nessa." There was a sense of need in his voice. His lips found her neck again but this time,, Vanessa felt no pleasure or happiness in it. She tried to break away from his grip but to no avail. He was too strong for her. Much too strong._

_No sound came from Vanessa for the rest of that night, but screams could still be heard all throughout the house. The T.V. had been kept on._

I was on my cot, my face buried in my pillow. I could feel the boys' presence near me and I could hear the sound of Squid's muffled voice explaining to them what had just occurred. Here come the sympathy hugs and pats on the back.

"Do you think we should leave her alone?"

"Probably. She doesn't look like she wants to be bothered."

"I think she's sleeping."

"Do you hear any snoring?"

I have no idea why, but right then, a fire inside me erupted. I got up and faced the rest of D-tent.

"No. No, I do not want to be left alone. I don't want to wallow in my own self-pity, thank you very much! And do you really think I could sleep at a time like this? I was just harassed, for god's sake! And for your information, I-DO-NOT-SNORE!"

Silence followed. A long, awkward silence. Armpit was the first to break it.

"Woah."

"Ya think she's PMS-ing?" Magnet muttered. That earned him slaps on the head from the rest of the guys minus Zero, who just rolled his eyes.

I sighed and then collapsed on the bed again, my head landing right on the pillow, just like they do on T.V. or in the movies.

"My life is a nightmare!" I groaned for more effect. I had found my inner drama queen.

"Seriously, I think she is," Magnet kept saying. No one ever told him when to stop when it came to girls did they?

I quickly went back to an upright position. Apparently, being harassed gave you _a lot _of adrenaline.

"I'm not PMS-iiiing!"

Great. I've turned from the prude, to the bitch, to the whiner.

All the boys gave me incredulous looks. Was it that hard to believe that I wasn't? Wait. Prude. Bitch. Whiner. Yeah, it was _that_ hard.

"How about we just forget it? I'm fine now. Promise. Cross my heart, hope to die," I said. I had a sudden craving to sing again. The Rocket Summer's song filled my head but I forced myself not to burst out in sing-song.

"Sure thing, girlie," X-ray said, still looking at me suspiciously.

Another awkward silence followed. Boy, were they afraid of me now or something? Well, I guess they have a reason to be. I just totally snapped at them for wondering if I was sleeping or not. But it wasn't my fault I had to channel my anger somewhere. Or maybe it is. Just a little…

"So…" I started off, only now realizing that I had no idea where I was going with the sentence. "Is, uh… there anything fun to do around here?"

Stupid question. This was a fricken juvenile detention camp. If there was anything fun to do, these boys wouldn't be sitting in a tent with a seemingly PMS-ing girl who was about to bite their head off.

"There's the Wreck Room," ZigZag suggested. I had a feeling that the Wreck Room wasn't all that fun, but meh, beats sitting in the room of the awkward silences.

"Can we go?" I asked.

"Sure. But we all better go. We don't want another repeat of the shower incident," Squid answered.

"No kidding," I muttered.

We all got up and one by one exited the tent. I had changed out of my bathing suit into something that covered my body more. I was wearing a purple tank top and white shorts, but this didn't stop the boys outside from staring. God, couldn't they just get used to having a girl around? If they only knew why I was placed here in the first place…

We walked for a short time before arriving at what looked like a bit of a run-down shack. Was this the Rec Room? Then I noticed the sign that hung above the entrance. "Wreck Room". Hah. Figures.

Entering the wreck room, I took a quick look at what could be so fun about the place. There was a pool table, but I was never the one to suggest to a game. I sucked at pool. There was a T.V, which ZigZag immediately walked over to, but I had no idea why considering it was broken and all you could watch was television fuzz. There was also a stereo but what kind of music was blasting out of it at the moment I had no idea. That just left a couple of couches and chairs here and there to sit on. What an amazingly fun place! … Yeah right.

I walked over to one of the couches and sat, motioning for some of the rest of D-tent to sit with me. Magnet and Squid walked over while the rest challenged a couple of boys from another tent to a game of pool.

"So, how are you liking Camp Green Lake so far, Nessa?" Magnet questioned. I snorted.

"Oh well besides the fact that all the guys stare at me as if I'm a piece of meat, my hand is a home for blisters, I have to get up way early in the morning to dig god-forsaken holes everyday, and that the temperature is up to a boil? I'm having oh-so-much fun!"

"What, no complaints about your annoying tent mates?" Squid asked.

"Nah, no complaints. At least, no complaints said out loud," I said and stuck my tongue out at them.

Magnet then turned to Squid and attempted to block me out of the conversation. "So, she thinks she's better than us now, eh?"

Squid decided to play along and completely ignored my existence. "Yeah, just because she's a girl. She's not even that great anyways. Sometimes she never says anything and the next, she's saying something sarcastic or bitchy."

"Yeah, thanks guys. I love you too," I said. No reply.

I rolled my eyes. Well, if they were going to ignore me, I might as well have some fun with it. I got up from my place on the couch and jumped on Magnet's lap. Then I lifted my legs and placed my feet on Squid's lap. Just then, a guy from another tent walked by and whistled.

"Damn. How did you get her to get on your lap like that? I'd like to have some time with that hot piece of ass."

Damn. I did not think this all the way through.

"It's called being nice. You should try it sometime," I retorted. The guy had no response so all he could do was give a faltering wink and walk away. I turned back to Magnet and Squid.

"Even though you weren't being very nice to me at that moment…" I said with puppy dog eyes.

"Aw, we were just kidding Nessa," Squid said.

"Yeah," Magnet agreed. "We love having you with us. Especially if it's like this." He proceeded to wrap his arms around me.

I rolled my eyes again. No matter how nice D-tent was, they will always still be hormone-filled teenaged boys.

"You better be glad that I know that deep, deep, down, I know that you're both nice guys. Or else, Magnet, I might have to slap you like I did with that guy at the showers," I said.

"Wow, what happened to the shy Vanessa we used to know?" Squid asked, raising his eyebrows.

Something in that sentence stung. Maybe because the last time I had heard that was when a guy I thought I actually loved said it to me. But no, I'm not going to let that comment affect me. I wouldn't let these boys see me any more vulnerable than before. I've had enough of naive and shy Vanessa. That Vanessa got me nowhere, fast.

"Yeah, she's gone. At least for now," I said.

"Well good. I like this Vanessa," Squid commented.

Just then, Mr. Pendanski entered with a bunch of letters and packages in his hand. "Vanessa!" he called out to me. "There's a letter and package here for you!"

I got up to take them, already guessing who they would be from. My parents? Nah. It's true, they love me, but they are completely hopeless with writing letters. It would take them about two months to write you a thank you note if you gave them something for their birthday. No, this would be from my best friend. Right before I left, she said she would try to write to me everyday if possible. Knowing her, she would.

I opened the letter first. Tearing apart the envelope, I quickly unfolded the piece of paper to reveal Caitlin's neat writing.

_Vannie J._

_First off, please don't kill me the next time you see me 'cause I used that nickname. It's just too adorable not to use and you know it! Even if it's only deep, deep, deep, deep down in your loverly heart._

_So how's prison so far? Woops. I mean detention camp. Is there really any difference? I think not. Now you're just a regular 'ol juvenile delinquent aren't you? Mhmm, don't even deny it. You love spending time with all the boys there. Are they hot? Remember, Nessa, you only get to pick one. If I ever somehow end up at that juvi place (hah, perish the thought!) I wouldn't want all the hot boys already taken by you. _

_Well, everything here is the same. Same as in BORING! And it's gotten even more depressing now that you're gone. I miss you. You know who else misses you? NOAH. He's been going around town saying how much his heart has been aching ever since his girlfriend left. Hah. Girlfriend?! So anyways, I got him to stop spreadin 'em rumours. Guess how? You're probably thinking in your head 'she gave him the 'ol one two right in the nuts!' Hah. You know me all too well._

_So anyways, you better write back! Oh, and with pictures of some of 'em boys you've gotten close to. Pretty please? You know you wanna. Just for me? I know you will. But there's no harm in asking you, is there? _

_I love you to DEATH, Vannie J! Please, oh please don't get big headed and remember us little people!_

_Your bestest friend in the whole wide frickin' world,_

_Caitlin._

_P.S. I knew you didn't bring your camera, so I took the liberty of buying you a disposable one. I don't want any excuses for no pictures! And I added a little extra something... to give you motivation. Mhmm, aren't I the greatest? I love you, betch! 3_

I laughed out laughed after I finished reading her letter. Caitlin Hurst, how I miss her so. As I took the package to reveal my disposable camera and 'little extra something', Magnet and Squid took hold of my letter to read it.

Opening the package, I found the disposable camera right away. I picked it up and immediately took a picture of Squid and Magnet, who were still busy reading away at my letter. Both looked up from the sudden 'click' and made faces at the camera, but I refused to take any more pictures. At least for now.

I looked into the package once more and found items that made me squeal with delight. There was a box of chocolates, a container filled with candy, my favourite book, Twilight, two CDs that I had burned, and a bag of TGI Friday's Potato Skins chips. Caitlin Hurst, my untimely saviour. What would I ever do without her?

"Hey, J-Girl, what's in the box?" X-Ray questioned. He had stopped playing his pool game to come over to see what all the fuss was about.

"J-Girl?" I questioned, my eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. J-Girl. It's your new nickname. You know, Vannie J, J-Girl," Squid explained.

I thought about it for a minute. "Meh, s'ok. Better than Vannie J if you ask me."

"Well then, that's it. You're now officially J-Girl. And also officially part of D-tent," X-ray announced.

I smiled. I remember hoping that I would never become fully one of them. I thought that becoming a full-fledged juvenile delinquent along with these boys would be the end of me, or at least my mind. But now that I actually spent some time with the boys of D-tent, I had come to a revelation. Maybe being part of this tight-knit almost-family wasn't going to be so bad after all.


End file.
